‘Republicans can eat … a bag of d___s’ / Not a joke / Gmail warning / Quiz!

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‘What if we keep giving food to all the hungry children and, to make up for that, Republicans can eat … a bag of d___s?’ In a show sprinkled with joking suggestions his show could be canceled, Stephen Colbert last night let loose on a federal budget that would cut Medicaid while giving billionaires tax breaks.
■ Colbert devoted most of the night to an interview with Sen. Bernie Sanders, who explained in plain terms the consequences of that plan.
■ The Tribune reports (gift link, courtesy of Chicago Public Square supporters) that hundreds of thousands of Illinoisans could lose Medicaid coverage under a scheme that a Trib editorial says “is filled with illogicalities, craven giveaways.”
■ The AP surveys what’s in that legislation, named—in homage to Donald Trump’s phraseology—the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.”
■ Sanders also had a message for Colbert’s Paramount bosses: Don’t settle a lawsuit filed by Trump.

‘86 47.’ After ex-FBI Director James Comey—fired by Trump in his first term—posted to Instagram a photo of those numbers formed with shells on the beach, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem says the Trump administration’s investigating him …
■ The Daily Beast: The post prompted Fox News hosts to “lose their minds.”
■ Comey’s since taken it down: “I didn’t realize some folks associate those numbers with violence.”
■ A Wisconsin judge accused of aiding the escape of a man in the U.S. illegally pleaded not guilty yesterday.
■ Law professor Joyce Vance takes a close look at the charges against the judge.
■ Chicago law firm Jenner & Block, among a handful refusing to bend a knee to Trump, says the Justice Department has pulled the security clearance for one of its lawyers.
■ Lawyer and columnist Robert Hubbell sees the Trump administration in retreat on several legal fronts.

Not a joke. Noem is considering a reality TV show that would pit immigrants against one another “for the honor of fast-tracking their way to U.S. citizenship.”
■ New York Times video featuring three Yale profs: “We study fascism, and we’re leaving the U.S.”
■ Pulitzer-winning columnist Dave Barry on Qatar’s offer to Trump of a plane: “I applaud the Qataris for their generosity. As an author currently on a multi-city book tour, I’m wondering if they might have any other spare airplanes lying around. If I had a personal airplane, I could spend a lot less time dealing with air-travel hassles and a lot more time writing Substack essays about issues such as what a great nation Qatar is, as well as offbeat topics such as why Qatar is a fun vacation spot. Give me a call, Qatar!”

Record broken. Yesterday’s high temperature eclipsed a Chicago record set in 1962 …
■ … but the city dodged violent weather that hit Wisconsin and Minnesota …
■ … allowing Beyoncé’s Soldier Field concert to play out after a delay.
■ Today’s forecast wasn’t looking all that promising.
■ The Wall Street Journal: With two weeks until the official start to the hurricane season, the newly appointed head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency has admitted “he doesn’t yet have a plan for hurricane season.”

Gmail warning. A wave of sophisticated AI-generated messages aims to steal your password—using scary phrases like “law enforcement agencies are interested in your account.”
■ ZDNET explains how a hidden slider in Google Earth lets you view your street or other locations on the planet as they’ve appeared from the sky going back up to 80 years.

Thanks for coming. Last year was a good one for Chicago tourism.
■ Block Club: A Chicago-based comedian’s reviews of Park District bathrooms have gone viral.
■ But, hey, tourists: Stock up on quarters, because—as the Sun-Times’ Fran Spielman reports—the parking meter deal that Chicagoans love to hate is getting $15.5 million worse.
■ In the works for the Ontario Street space formerly occupied by Lawry’s The Prime Rib: A new performance venue devoted to … magic!
■ A shooting across from Wrigley Field last night sent a man to the hospital.

‘Go 8 for 8 and win a $400 million gold airplane.’ Past Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions winner Fritz Holznagel lays down that challenge with this week’s news quiz …
■ … and your Chicago Public Square columnist is ready to board after nailing a perfect score this go-round.
■ Men Yell at Me columnist Lyz Lenz’s Dingus of the Week: The governor of California, “still a Democrat on paper, but … one of America’s foremost Republicrats.”

Staging resistance. As Trump assumes control of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, staffers are moving to unionize.

A Broadway first. Coming to CNN live, the night of June 7: The penultimate performance of the critically acclaimed stage version of George Clooney’s Good Night, and Good Luck.
■ The Tribune’s Nina Metz (another gift link) gives Apple TV+’s new series Murderbot three stars.
■ Disney’s using AI to resurrect the late James Earl Jones’ voice as Darth Vader in a new video game

Thanks. Valerie Denney made this edition better.

All the hazards / ‘Big, beautiful’ threat / Signs of hope

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All the hazards. As Chicago flirted with potentially record-breaking temperatures today, the National Weather Service raised warning flags about scattered storms that “will likely become severe with all hazards possible, including destructive hail and winds.”
■ If they do happen, they could be “quick moving in and quick moving out.”

‘Do you like Donald Trump?’ That’s one of the questions progressive streamer Hasan Piker says federal agents asked him as they detained him at O’Hare for more than two hours Sunday.
■ Columnist Parker Molloy calls the incident “a chilling signal” of what happens “when border control becomes thought police.”
■ Techdirt columnist Mike Masnick: Piker “gave his millions of followers a masterclass in what not to do when detained,” turning “what should have just been a clear story of an unfortunately common constitutional violation into potential legal ammunition against himself.”

Who’s an American? Updating coverage: The Supreme Court today was weighing the president’s push to deny citizenship for kids born in the U.S. to people who are here illegally.
■ You can hear the session here.
■ A Chicago-area mother of a newborn is among those following the case closely.
■ An influx of migrants likely fueled Chicago’s population gain last year—the seventh biggest leap of any U.S. city.
■ Protesters bearing signs including “Only Fascists Arrest Judges” crowded outside a Milwaukee federal courthouse today as a county judge appeared on charges connected to an undocumented immigrant’s escape from arrest in her courtroom last month.

‘Big, beautiful’ threat. Digging deep into Republican budget legislation making its way through the house, Popular Information discovers on page 380 “a powerful new tool to silence dissent.”
■ The AP: Republicans in the House last night pushed that legislation past overwhelming strong Democratic opposition.
■ The American Prospect: The party’s far exceeded its original plans, cutting “a staggering $300 billion” from the nation’s anti-poverty food stamp program.
■ Abortion, Every Day: “Georgia’s abortion ban is forcing a family to keep their brain-dead daughter alive.”
■ The authors of a forthcoming book, White Rural Rage: The Threat to American Democracy, say Trump’s betraying the voters who restored him to power.
‘PLEASE STOP BEING MEAN TO TRUMP’S $400 MILLION BRIBE.’ Wonkette’s Evan Hurst dissects the president’s “Traitor Criminal Temper Tantrum” on social media.
■ Washington Post alumnus Paul Farhi, writing for The Daily Beast: In its coverage of Trump’s travels across the Middle East, the Post “seems to hardly remember a columnist who was the victim of a despicable act of state murder.”
■ Democracy Docket: Trump’s trying to control Congress by taking over its library.
■ Columnist and ex-Sun-Times CEO Edwin Eisendrath: Once Trump’s out of power, turn Mar-a-Lago into “a museum and research center on American Fascism.”

‘Probably not a lie, but just more incompetence.’ Columnist Eric Zorn analyzes Mayor Johnson’s sketchy accounts of why he sacked the city’s acclaimed health commissioner in 2023.
■ Defending the mayor’s pick to head the Chicago Transit Authority, City Council member David Moore warned CTA board members not to be a “backbiting snake” by acceding to transit advocates’ demand for a nationwide search.
■ Coming to Chicago’s streets: Dozens of new speed cameras.

Going up. Walmart says Trump’s tariff plans will force it to raise prices this month.
■ Consumer Reports rounds up a list of “our favorite deals right now.”

‘I trust RFK Jr., so I, too, shall take my family to swim in sewage.’ USA Today’s Chicago-based columnist Rex Huppke sarcastically endorses the health secretary’s decision to take his grandkids into a creek with widespread fecal contamination.
■ An embattled Kennedy—again, the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services—told a House committee yesterday, “I don’t think people should be taking medical advice from me.”

Facebook’s dangers. The American Prospect: Mark Zuckerberg’s social media company has exposed Americans and American security to Chinese surveillance.
■ Author and tech activist Cory Doctorow decries Team Trump’s assault on citizen privacy—in tandem with a do-nothing Congress that “hasn’t passed a new consumer privacy law since 1988 … to address … the scourge of video-store clerks telling newspapers which VHS cassettes you took home.”

Admit it: You never really knew it changed, right? In one of the most noteworthy brand retreats of the century, “Max” is reverting to “HBO.”
■ Columnist Bess Kalb: “Now that it’s available, I am changing my Substack’s name to ‘Max.’”

Signs of hope. Reflecting on three journalism conferences he’s attended in the last month, ProPublica founder Dick Tofel recaps four reasons for optimism in a time of fear …
■ … and former Labor Secretary Robert Reich predicts that, when the “huge sleeping giant” that is the American public awakens, “Trump and his regime will be toast” …
■ … but constitutional scholar Kim Wehle cautions: “Hoping things will work out is not a strategy.”
■ Progressive groups are planning a 30-mile “human chain of solidarity” Sunday afternoon from Chicago’s Little Village neighborhood west to Aurora.

‘Too partisan.’ That’s a Chicago Public Square reader’s explanation for unsubscribing this week.
■ You can help replace that reader by recommending Square to a friend.
■ And, of course, a buck or two into the Square tip jar eases the sting of abandonment.
■ Susan Stevens made this edition better.

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